Cinderstar
by artemisgirl
Summary: AU Starfire's evil stepmother, Jinx, has forbidden her from going to the ball! Will her fairy godmother Raven and her assistant Beast Boy help her achieve her wish of meeting the Prince Robin? oneshot TT's in a Cinderella setting Robin\Starfire


A/N: Aha! Another lovely story for all my devout readers to enjoy! For those of you who are wondering, **Honesty** is _not_ completed yet. There are more chapters to come. Apparently, several of you mistook 'the end' to mean the end of the story, not the end of the chapter, as it was intended for. I wouldn't leave you all hanging like that! That'd be so cruel...

The delay on updating **Honesty **is also because my story was plagerized in Spanish. There was an arguement with the fanfiction dot net staff, and I refused to update until her story was removed. Since then, it's been removed, so I will be working on it again.

This story is a oneshot, but is rather long - 11,666 words. It could be a story in it's own right, I suppose, but I decided to post it all at once, anyway. It's AU, kind of. The Teen Titans characters in the story of Cinderella.

Mind you, this is the **only** time you will ever see me write anything RobinxStarfire, so don't get used to it:P

**Cinderstar**

Once upon a time, on a strange whitish pink planet called Tamaran, there was a wealthy trader named Galfore. He lived a happy life, with his wife and his young daughter, Koriand'r. They were well off, well known, and very well liked. Life was ideal.

However, all good things come to an end. After a time, political unrest came to Tamaran, and crime and thievery reigned supreme. Galfore, happy with his former life, was reluctant to leave Tamaran and wanted to wait, hoping the unrest would settle.

After a group of rebels killed his wife, Galfore realized that Tamaran would never be the same. Taking his belongings and his young daughter, he flew to a new planet, known as Earth. He settled down, bought a cottage in a majestic kingdom, and established himself as a merchant.

After a time, Galfore decided to take a second wife, feeling Koriand'r needed a mother, and he needed a wife as well, to keep house and cook and do other mundane tasks.

The woman he chose was called Jinx and was the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen. She had by a former husband two daughters of her own selfish nature, called Blackfire and Kitten. Galfore did not see Jinx's true nature, however, as she wore a façade of kindness and gentleness all throughout their courtship.

No sooner were the ceremonies of the wedding over than Jinx began to show herself in true colors. She could not bear the good qualities of this pretty young girl Koriand'r, as she made her own daughters appear more odious. Jinx longed to have sole control of the household and force Koriand'r to do the meanest work of the house. But as long as Galfore was alive, he forced Jinx to treat Koriand'r kindly, as she reminded him of his first wife, his true love. Koriand'r was wary of her new stepmother, but took comfort in the fact that her father was there to protect her.

For many years, Jinx schemed, and when Koriand'r and her daughters were young women, she finally hatched upon a plan. The next time Galfore went travelling, Jinx slipped hemlock and deadly spurge into his food supply, before bidding him a happy good-bye.

Mere days later, word came that Galfore had died on the road. Koriand'r was crushed at the news, while Jinx smiled evilly to herself, as her plans were about to come together.

It is here where we begin our tale.

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"Galfore is dead."

The way the messenger had said it was so cruel and harsh. Tears gathered in Koriand'r's eyes at the news, and she felt overcome by the urge to weep.

Jinx swept over to the messenger, playing the part of the sorrowful widow. "How could this have happened?" she said, putting her head in her hands as if weeping.

"He was found dead on the road. No one knows how he died," the messenger sighed. "You have my sincerest condolences. Good day." The messenger departed without another word.

Koriand'r fell upon the floor, sobbing at the loss of her father. After her mother had died, he had been the only one in this strange new world she could truly trust. And now, he was gone forever.

She heard Jinx shut the door and looked up to see Jinx peering down at her, a false expression of concern upon her face.

"Poor, poor, little Koriand'r," Jinx said sympathetically, shaking her head. "All alone in the world, with no one to care for her or protect her." Jinx's expression changed, and an evil smirk formed on her lips. "What a loss."

"My father, your husband, is dead!" Koriand'r cried out, distraught. "How can you say such hateful things?"

"I can say them because I mean them," Jinx said cruelly. "Now, get up, Koriand'r. I am the new head of house, and there are a few changes to be made."

Koriand'r got to her feet, trembling, for she knew life under her stepmother would be hard and cruel.

"Might I have the proper amount of time to mourn the loss of my father?" she requested, her bottom lip trembling, her eyes wet with tears.

"No," Jinx said curtly. "Now, stand up straight. Blackfire, Kitten, we have work to do."

Jinx and her daughters swept over to Koriand'r and circled around her like vultures over prey, calculating what was to be done.

"First, your name is to change," Jinx announced. "You are no longer on Tamaran. Koriand'r too is hard to say and is too regal for your new status."

"I was named after my mother," Koriand'r said quietly.

"All the better," Jinx said. "Your mother is dead. Your father is dead. You are a new person, and you will begin your new life with a new name."

Koriand'r looked at the floor, trying not to cry.

Jinx clapped. "I have it! You shall be called Starfire, for it is upon the fire of stars that wishes are made, and you will spend the rest of your life wishing things were different."

Blackfire smirked. "It suits her," she remarked. "Her name is like mine, and she looks somewhat like me as well."

"As if, Blackfire," Jinx sniffed. "You are a thousand times more beautiful than this sorry wench."

Blackfire and Kitten smirked.

"Mommy, what about her clothes?" Kitten asked. "She wears lavish garments from the finest weavers. Surely she is not allowed to wear finer clothes than us?"

"Hmm," Jinx pondered. "Perhaps her traditional Tamaranian clothes would be more fitting. They are scattered and rude, like those of a maid. Go and fetch them, Starfire, and put them on."

After she had done so, the three looked upon her and smiled cruelly.

"Good, Starfire," Jinx said. "Now, it is late, and it is time for bed. You may have the rug by the fireplace as a blanket, and pick any place on the floor for your bed. Goodnight, Starfire. Daughters, come." Jinx and her brood swept away down the hall, leaving Koriand'r to accept her fate.

Dismally, Koriand'r settled down by the fireplace in her scant Tamaranian clothes, shivering. Still cold, she curled up in the ashes of the fire, the embers keeping her slightly warm.

So it was that Koriand'r, newly christened Starfire, began her new life, huddled up in a pile of cinders, shivering, wishing her father were still alive.

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Time passed, and Starfire grew from an awkward prepubescent child into a graceful and mature young woman, setting Jinx's temper alight. For despite her filthy clothes and hair, and being forced to do the meanest work of the house, Starfire shone with a natural beauty that far outshone that of her own daughters. Jinx took her own revenge by limiting Starfire's food and increasing her housework, making her scour the floor by hand until her hands and knees bled, carrying out the chamber pots, and other such cruel tasks.

Jinx, not wanting to spend the expense of a bed, left Starfire to curl up on the floor each night. Starfire resorted to the embers of the fire in the winter to keep her warm.

Blackfire and Kitten found great amusement in this.

"Look at Starfire!" Blackfire had crowed the first time that they had found her. "All curled up in the ashes!"

"Look, she has cinders in her hair!" Kitten smirked nastily. "She's filthy!"

"We should call her Cinderstar!" Blackfire laughed, as Starfire tried to get out of the fireplace.

"Cinderstar!" Kitten giggled.

"Cinderstar, Cinderstar!" they chanted, dancing around Starfire in a circle as they had their fun.

Even five years later, the name stuck.

One day, while Starfire was cleaning up from supper, a knock came at the door.

"Kitten, get the door!" Blackfire yelled at her sister. "I'm busy painting my nails!"

"You get it!" Kitten hollered back from down the hall. "I'm trying to tighten my girdle on my own! I'm too busy!"

"You're a lazy wench!" Blackfire yelled down the hall, unmoving from her position on the living room floor. "You never answer the door!"

"I do too! You do it!" came Kitten's response.

"You do it!" Blackfire hollered again.

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"_I_ will get the door," Starfire said, sighing, going to the door, a spotted kerchief still tied over her head to keep her hair from getting in the food. Opening the door, she saw a strange man standing outside, looking intensely bored.

On second thought, Starfire considered, man wasn't the right word for it. He looked more her own age, and with his exasperated expression, he couldn't be more than eighteen. He had flaming red hair and wore a quiver of arrows slung across his back. A red tunic plastered with the King's coat of arms was hung limply from his shoulders, and he wore a strange black mask.

"Hear ye, hear ye," he announced boredly, obviously reciting some spiel he had memorized. "The king has announced-"

"Wait!" Starfire said, confused. "What is a 'ye'? I do not think I have heard one…"

"Ye' is just a fancy word for 'you', Cinderstar," Blackfire informed her stepsister, still painting her nails while eavesdropping. The messenger raised an eyebrow at her name. "What has the king announced?" Blackfire asked, still not bothering to get up.

"The king has announced a grand ball in honor of his son," the messenger said, seemingly glad to be back on track. "All the women of the kingdom are invited. The king hopes his son the prince will choose a bride from them. The ball is three weeks hence. Good day." The messenger turned to leave.

"Wait!" Starfire cried out after him. The messenger turned, looking to her tiredly.

"_All_ women of the kingdom are invited?" she asked, holding her breath with hope. The messenger looked to her, and his expression softened.

"Aye," he said. "All women." He smiled at her kindly, and she returned his smile happily.

"Excuse me," a cold voice said from behind. Starfire turned to see Jinx walking towards the door. "Surely you can't mean _this_ piece of filth," she said, gesturing at Starfire. "It would simply be an abomination to have such a creature at the king's ball."

The messenger's expression took on a decidedly cool feel. "_All_ women of the kingdom have been invited," he told her. "Are you contradicting the words of the king?"

"No, but --" Jinx objected.

"There is nothing more," the messenger interrupted. "I bid thee good day." Leaving, he turned back, and dropping his required formality, he winked at Starfire.

"If you do come to the ball, fair maid, look for me!" he called flirtatiously. "Ask for Speedy! I'll make a lady out of you! We could --"

Jinx hurriedly shut the door, cutting off the messenger's remarks.

"What does he mean?" Starfire asked, puzzled. "How would that boy make a lady out of me? Are not ladies born, not created?"

"Shut up, Cinderstar," Jinx said, rolling her eyes and sinking into a chair. "Blackfire, fetch your sister. There is much to do, with this new news of a ball."

"Make Cinderstar do it," Blackfire said, now painting her toenails.

"Cinderstar, go get Kitten," Jinx directed Starfire, who obediently went down the hall to fetch her stepsister.

"Cinderstar! Thanks goodness you're here!" Kitten gushed as soon as Starfire came into view. Wearing nothing but her underclothes, Kitten rushed to her sister and pulled her into her room. "I'm having a _nightmare_ tightening my girdle. Be a dear and pull the strings tight for me," Kitten told her, moving over to grasp a bedpost.

Sighing, Starfire went over and yanked on the strings.

"Tighter!" Kitten told her. "I can still breathe! Pull harder!"

Starfire tugged on the strings, getting slight sadistic satisfaction from seeing her stepsister pant and gasp for breath, her face red. She told Kitten of her mother's request.

"Fine, fine," Kitten wheezed. "I'm coming."

Kitten stumbled towards the doorway, dizzy from lack of oxygen. Starfire followed her.

"Finally," Jinx snarled. "Can't you do anything right, Cinderstar? It shouldn't have taken that long to get Kitten."

"But I was tightening her miniature torture device for her…" Starfire objected.

"Shut up!" Kitten said, reddening. "Just because you're thin enough you don't have to wear a girdle doesn't mean everyone is!"

"But you asked me t --"

"Silence!" Jinx said sharply, cutting Cinderstar off. She paused a moment before speaking again. "Now, my daughters," Jinx said lovingly, smiling at Blackfire and Kitten, "there is to be a grand ball in three weeks, and all the ladies of the kingdom are invited! The prince is to choose a wife at this grand event!"

Blackfire and Kitten oohed and ahhed appreciatively.

"Yes, yes. And I fully intend for one of you to be his bride," Jinx declared. "You are by far the most beautiful girls in the kingdom. No one else's beauty can come close to comparing!"

Biting back a snicker, Starfire thought that a horse's backside was more pleasing to look upon than her stepsisters.

"But we have so much to do, in so little time!" Jinx worried, pacing. "There is no time for appointments for hair or makeup or nails, and we all need new dresses, and lessons on how to speak to royalty…" Jinx trailed off, presumably listing more things in her mind.

"We don't need appointments for our hair or anything," Blackfire said, annoyed, tossing her long raven tresses. "They'll just make us look dull and plain like the other ladies who go in there."

"Hmm," Jinx considered. "You are right. We could never settle for their dull molded looks. We shall prepare ourselves."

"I don't want a new store-bought dress either!" Kitten whined. "They itch, they don't fit right, and they look stupid!"

"Of course, of course," Jinx agreed. "We cannot settle for a mere store-made dress. We need an individually crafted garment, made precisely for our own unique style."

"Exactly," Blackfire said.

"Perfect," Kitten agreed.

"But the ball is in three weeks," Jinx remembered. "And none of us can sew, knows the least thing about royalty, or how to apply cosmetics. Luckily, there are only three of us," she remarked.

"Four," Starfire said quietly.

"What?" Jinx said, turning to look at Starfire, astonished. "What are you talking about?"

"There are four of us," Starfire said, raising her voice. "I am going to the ball as well."

Jinx threw back her head and laughed, the sound high and cruel, making goose bumps form on Starfire's skin. When she was done, she turned back to Starfire, shooting her a look of ice.

"You will _not_ go to the ball," she said softly, her voice low filled with venom. "A ball is not meant for the likes of you…"

"But the messenger said…"

"_Fuck_ the messenger and his damn message," Jinx spat disgustedly. "You are _not_ going to the ball, and that is the last word."

Starfire moved away, grumbling to herself.

"Now, back to the issue at hand," Jinx announced, dismissing the subject. "What are we to do?"

The three stopped to ponder this problem.

"We could hire a maid…" Kitten suggested feebly.

"Never," Jinx snapped. "I detest maids. They steal your money and never do what they're told."

"Then who do we know who can sew, use make-up, and spent time around royalty?" Blackfire asked aloud.

Starfire quietly tried to creep away down the hall.

"Who?" Kitten echoed, puzzled. Jinx's eyes fell on her stepdaughter, and an evil smile spread across her face, sending chills down Starfire's spine.

"Cinderstar," she said, her voice dripping with honey. Starfire froze. "Do you think you could help us prepare for the ball?"

"But I do not know how to --"

"Wonderful!" Jinx cried, clapping her hands. "That's settled then! Cinderstar will prepare us for the ball!"

Blackfire and Kitten smirked at Cinderstar, who was appalled by the amount of work she would be forced to do.

"Come now, girls, we must get our beauty rest!" Jinx said, sweeping of down the hall. "Nighty-night, Cinderstar!"

"Nighty-night," Starfire echoed dully, watching her family head off to bed.

Sighing dismally, Starfire curled up in an indentation in the ashes and fell asleep, dreaming of dresses to make, help to give, and other chores she would be forced to do.

And she wouldn't even be able to go to the ball.

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Time passed, and finally it was the night of the ball. Jinx, Blackfire, and Kitten all exclaimed on how quickly it had crept up upon them. Starfire, however, thought the exact opposite.

The three hellish weeks between the announcement and the date of the ball had been torture. Starfire had spent a week down at the riverside, picking various herbs and plants to create original pastes and creams for her stepfamily, as Jinx deemed normal makeup 'too common.' It was a pity that no one had ever taught Starfire about poison ivy, and she spent a week itching. Not only that, but she was made to test them on herself, and she broke out in various rashes and bumps several times.

She had also been made to study the hairstyles of fine ladies so Jinx and her daughters could mimic them. This, however, was more difficult, as they lived in a common town. Starfire was made to walk down to the castle and spy on the ladies of the court as they went places in their fine carriages and take notes, sketching the various styles and colors.

Such well-established people did not take kindly to stalkers, however, and when one was seen, such as Starfire, the guards were called. Starfire spent much time getting beaten by these men, who felt that anything besides physical punishment was no punishment. As their punches landed, creating more black and blue marks, Starfire bit her lips, tears in her eyes, wishing she didn't have to do such a task.

Worst of all was the making of their dresses. After taking countless measurements, Starfire selected fabric, and the sewing began. She spent many days and many nights holed up in a tiny room that had been designated as the sewing room, pricking her fingers as she sewed whalebone buttons and frames into the dresses by dim candlelight. After the dresses were completed, she was required to make tons of alterations and additions, putting various buttons here, embroidering unique designs there, until her family was finally satisfied.

But now was the night of the ball, and Starfire would be free from their torture as soon as they left until the next day. But until then, she was occupied with readying them for the dance.

"I think my face needs more blush," Kitten announced, as Starfire was busy fixing up Kitten's hair. "Cinderstar, put more on."

"Mm-mmm," Starfire said, pins in her mouth.

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses, Cinderstar," Jinx snapped. "Give Kitten more blush."

Sighing, Starfire removed the pins and brushed the pinkish powder across Kitten's face.

"Is that acceptable?" she asked Kitten tiredly, holding up a face mirror.

"Perfect," Kitten purred. "Now, fix my hair up. It looks like a bird's nest."

"It would not look so if you had let me finish before doing your blush," Starfire tried to explain.

"Shut up!" Kitten snapped. "Hurry up and finish my hair!"

Sighing, Starfire pinned up the remaining strands of Kitten's blonde hair and brushed the rest of it until it shone.

"Wonderful!" Kitten exclaimed, leaning forward to admire herself in the mirror. "I look just like a princess! There's no way that prince will be able to resist me!"

"Cinderstar, if you're done with Kitten, get over here and help me!" Blackfire snapped irritably, struggling with her dress in front of a full-length mirror. "Button this up for me!"

"You are wearing it crooked," Starfire explained, moving the dress so it hung down properly.

"I don't care," Blackfire scowled. "Just fix it!"

Sighing, Starfire quickly buttoned up the back of her stepsister's dress, her agile fingers nimbly slipping the pearl buttons through the silk loops.

"There," she said. Blackfire looked behind her, craning her neck.

"Did you do it properly?" Blackfire demanded accusingly. "If I look like a fool at the ball, I'll have your head."

"You're fine, dear," Jinx said, gliding over effortlessly, her majestic gown rippling slightly at the bottom. "You look ravishing," Jinx said, nodding in approval. "He shan't be able to take his eyes from you."

"No kidding," Blackfire smirked, glancing down slightly.

"I still think Blackfire looks ridiculous showing that much cleavage," Kitten whined, putting on her own dress across the room, having finished with admiring herself. "It looks like her boobs will pop out while she's dancing."

"So much the better," Blackfire smirked, shooting a winning look at her sister.

"Kitten!" Jinx said, aghast. "We are going to be around royalty! How can you talk so crudely?"

"What do you mean?" Blackfire asked, puzzled. "She wasn't being crude…"

"It is not _boobs _or _cleavage_," Jinx announced grandly. "It is _décolletage_."

"What?" Kitten asked flatly. Blackfire laughed. Starfire even bit back a giggle.

"Whenever referring to something private or crude, resort to French," Jinx explained. "It is what the upper class does."

Blackfire laughed out loud at that. "Yeah, sure, Mom," she said, smirking. "I'm sure they do."

"It is!" Jinx insisted. "It makes you sound sophisticated."

"Sophisticated my ass!" Blackfire snorted. "I need to grab my purse before we go," she said, leaving the room.

"It is not an _ass_!" Jinx called after her. "It is your _derrière_!" Sighing, she whirled around on Starfire, taking out her frustration with her own daughter on Starfire.

"Cinderstar," she snarled, making Starfire jump. "The carriage should be here. Light the door lamp so that they know we are here."

"Yes, Ma'am," Starfire responded, obediently leaving the room, heading towards the door.

"It's not _ma'am_!" Jinx called after her, her voice fading as Starfire walked away. "It's _Madame…_"

Starfire rolled her eyes and grabbed a flint off the tea table before going to light the lamp.

"_It's not ma'am; it's Madame…_" Starfire mocked her stepmother as she struck the flint, trying to coax a spark from the rock. "Does she not realize that no one will be talking about crude things at the ball, so there is no need for French?" she wondered aloud, finally getting a spark to land on the wick. She blew on it, making it grow, until the wick finally caught.

"There!" she said happily, proud despite herself for accomplishing her task. As she turned to go in, she paused and did a double take.

"Odd," she said, looking at a bug to the side of the door. "I have never before seen a fly that is of a green color…" She bent closer, examining the insect.

The fly, apparently scared, buzzed off very quickly. Starfire shrugged and went back inside.

"There you are!" Jinx said, patting her hair. "The carriage will be here any moment!"

"So?" Blackfire asked, adjusting herself in a mirror so that her breasts were pushed higher.

"The prince is going to _love_ me!" Kitten said aloud. "He's going to be so struck by my beauty that he'll compliment my dress, and then ask me to dance when the first slow song comes on, and forever after that, it will always be known as our song…" she trailed off, daydreaming.

"I'm sure, Kitten," Jinx said, distracted, as she slipped on a heavy fur coat. "He'll just love you."

Kitten sighed happily as she hugged herself.

"That is, if he can ever keep his eyes off _me_," Blackfire remarked, striking a pose in the mirror, the slit in her dress riding high up her leg.

"Girls! Girls! The carriage is here!" Jinx said excitedly. "To the ball!"

Blackfire swept out the door, quickly followed by Kitten. Jinx moved to go after them, before pausing and turning in the doorway to fix Starfire with an icy glare.

"Before we return home, you must clean and scrub out the entire basement," Jinx told her coldly. "If I find so much as a _speck_ of dirt in there, you will wish you'd never be born."

With those warm sentiments, Jinx flounced out of the house, locking the door behind her.

Starfire watched through the window. She could hear Jinx's voice through the window, saying, "Remember, girls, mind your manners" and Blackfire's reply of, "Whatever" before the carriage door shut and they sped off into the night.

Starfire sniffed, close to tears in her desolation as she watched the dust on the road settle, though she knew she could do nothing about it. Dismally descending the stairs, dejected, she drew open the scraggly basement curtains, allowing moonlight to pour into the room, illuminating it in a milky glow. She looked about her, gauging the task ahead of her.

The basement was _filthy. _

Dirt covered the entire floor. Rats and mice scurried about, battling over moldy chunks of food and garbage. Flies buzzed around the garbage in one corner, its retched stench overwhelming the basement. Some raccoon seemed to have wandered in through the broken window and died in the middle of the floor and now had maggots festering in its corpse, decaying its rotted flesh.

Starfire looked around, sat down on the last stair, and cried.

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The basement was quiet; silent, save the noise of a girl sobbing in the corner. A mouse scurried over every once in a while, to see if she was still alive or if she could be eaten yet, before hurrying back to safety. Dim moonlight filtered into the room slowly, through a cloud, as the girl continued weeping.

Suddenly, the rats and mice, which had been gathering in the center of the room, fighting over territory, suddenly scattered, running to the walls so fast they crashed into them, before dashing into various holes. The noise startled Starfire and she looked up, her face tear-streaked, her eyes wet, and saw a strange sight.

Something was coming into the room.

Starfire peered at it, curious, her tears forgotten. It appeared to be a large, black bubble, except for the fact that it seemed to glow white. It also had a green spot on the top of it, which seemed unexplainable. It floated around and seemed to grow larger and larger the closer it came to Starfire.

Just when it had grown so large that Starfire was convinced it would burst, the bubble suddenly vanished. A green lad toppled out of it, and a prim teenage girl remained standing, looking down at the green boy with a dispassionate gaze.

"That hurt…" the boy muttered, rubbing his head. "Next time, we don't travel by bubble…"

"Sure," the dark girl said sarcastically. "Like we're supposed to, you mean? I _told_ you it was **The Wizard of Oz** where they did the bubble."

"Yeah, yeah," the boy muttered insolently, getting to his feet, rubbing his back.

Starfire stared.

The green boy was wearing what seemed to be a purple and black jumpsuit with deep purple shoes. Fuzzy green hair topped his green face, and a lone tooth stuck out above his lip. He looked around the basement, smirking at the filth, his face falling when he saw the dead raccoon. He seemed slightly younger than her own age, innocent and carefree.

The mysterious girl stood with her shoulders back, not slouching like her comrade, with a regal air about her. She was clothed in deep blue robes, with a hood pulled up over her head. Vivid purple eyes looked out from the shadows of her hood, eyeing the room with distaste.

Apparently having looked her fill, the girl fixed her piercing gaze on Starfire, who instinctively shrank back.

"You must be Starfire." It was a statement, not a question. The girl's voice seemed to lack all emotion.

"Y-yes," Starfire managed to get out, scared. "W-who are you?" she asked, trying not to stutter from fear.

"I am Raven!" the girl said dramatically. Thunder boomed outside, lightning struck, and wind billowed into the room, sweeping her cloak around her in a menacing fashion, revealing a tight black leotard beneath. "And I am your fairy godmother!"

"Show off," the boy muttered, eyeing the lightning warily.

"Oh," Raven said, turning to regard her forgotten friend. The lightning and the wind stopped, and no further thunder was heard. "And this," she said, gesturing, "is Beast Boy, my assistant."

"Pleased to meet you," Beast Boy said cordially, smiling at her, which calmed Starfire's nerves somewhat.

"Yes, yes, joy and happiness all around," Raven said dismissively. "We have work to do."

"Wait," Starfire said. Raven turned to look at her again, and she tried not to flinch from her harsh violet gaze. "You are my _fairy godmother?_" she asked, disbelieving.

"Technically, no," Raven said, brushing dirt from her arms as she spoke. "No one _really_ has a fairy godmother; it's all for show, but Corimunde, who you were assigned to, came down with a nasty case of fairy pox, and Griselda had a date, so I got you instead."

"_Fairy godmother_ sounds so much better than _benevolent woman who helps out those in need_," Beast Boy explained, as Raven pulled off her hood, revealing mauve-colored hair.

"Oh," Starfire said.

"So," Raven said, looking at the tearstains on Starfire's face, "what's the matter? Did you fall down the stairs?"

At this reminder of her troubles, Starfire's bottom lip trembled and she promptly burst into tears again. Raven looked worried.

"Maybe you should try being nicer," Beast Boy hissed at her. Raven looked uncomfortable.

"Um… there, there, Starfire," she said awkwardly. "What's wrong?"

"My evil stepmother and stepsisters have gone off to the prince's ball and left me here all alone!" Starfire wailed. "I have to clean this entire basement before they get home!"

"Oh, is that all?" Raven said, relieved. She waved a hand, and the basement straightened itself out immediately. The dust was gone, the garbage missing, the air clean, and the raccoon corpse disposed of, nary a rodent in sight.

"There. Problem solved," Raven said, a corner of her mouth curling up in a slight smile.

Starfire only cried harder.

"There, there," Raven said urgently, looking slightly worried. "I fixed up the basement. What else can possibly be wrong?"

"I want -- I want --"

But Starfire was unable to speak the rest, through her tears and sobbing.

"You want to go to the ball," Beast Boy said. Starfire nodded.

"Well, we can't do anything about that while you're crying all over the place, now, can we?" Raven said gently. Sniffing, Starfire looked up, stopping her tears.

"There," Raven said, smiling, glad she wasn't crying anymore. "Now, you want to go to the prince's ball?"

Starfire nodded.

"Then why aren't you at the ball?" Raven asked curiously. "The castle isn't that far away."

"My stepmother has forbidden me to go," Starfire said hopelessly. "And even if I did, I have nothing to wear, and no way to get there."

"So?" Raven asked, not comprehending. "It's not like you always listen your stepmother anyway…"

"I always obey my stepmother," Starfire said, confused. "Am I not supposed to respect my authority figures?"

"Not if they treat you like shit," Beast Boy pointed out.

"Oh," Starfire said, understanding. Raven smirked.

"There," she said. "Problem solved."

"But I have nothing to wear!" Starfire reiterated. "I cannot go to a ball in clothes such as these!"

"Why not?" Raven asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"It would not be appropriate," Starfire said dejectedly. "I would be laughed at and publicly mocked, before being thrown out onto the street, thoroughly humiliated."

"Oh, okay," Raven said, quickly backing off the topic. "You made dresses for your stepmother and stepsisters, did you not?"

"Yes," Starfire sniffed. "I did."

"Then why couldn't you make one for yourself?" Raven asked her. "Surely that would be simplest."

"I -- I did not think of that," Starfire admitted.

"That," Raven said, "is obvious."

"Don't rub it in, Rae," Beast Boy said. "You're supposed to help her, not make her feel worse."

"Okay," Raven conceded. She fixed her eyes on Starfire again, who bit her lip. "You sure you want to go to this ball?" Raven asked, sighing, taking her cloak off and tossing it to Beast Boy, who nimbly caught it.

"Oh, yes! Yes!" Starfire said excitedly, realizing that Raven was going to help her go to the ball.

"Okay, Beast Boy, we need a dress for her," Raven said, pushing up her sleeves, first flicking a hand at Starfire, removing all traces of dirt, slime, and filth from her body. "What do we need?"

"Ooh, a pastel color, perhaps a nice lavender or pale green or fuschia," Beast Boy said excitedly, scurrying over and looking her over. "Fuschia, then, definitely. She has the perfect coloring for it. Not too low-cut, a bit above armpit level. And lavender elbow-length gloves for sure. It'll add a certain elegance. Oh, and glass slippers. Glass slippers for sure."

"Glass slippers?" Raven said dubiously, her hands on her hips, looking her over. "Wouldn't that hurt terribly? All that rubbing of glass against your feet... it sounds highly impractical."

"You think all dresses and pretty things are impractical," Beast Boy scoffed.

"That's because they _are_," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "But still... wouldn't matching fuschia heels be better?"

"You have _no_ sense of style," Beast Boy criticized. "The glass slippers will give her a certain _flair_ about her. A unique, memorable characteristic. The glass slippers are a _must_."

"I don't know..." Raven said, wavering. "It still seems painful."

"Starfire's a Tamaranian," Beast Boy said, smiling winningly. "The alien anatomy of her will prevent any pain what _we_ might experience, from rubbing, tired feet, or anything else."

"Fine," Raven sighed, flicking her hair out of the way. She raised her hands, encased in a black aura. "Azarath Metrion-"

"Wait!" Beast Boy cried. Raven turned. "Aren't you supposed to say 'Bippity Boppity Boo'?" Raven rolled her eyes. "Or 'Abracadabra'? Ooh! Or or or 'hocus po --"

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cried.

Suddenly, Starfire found herself surrounded by spinning black sheets of power. She started feeling really dizzy as they swirled, and various white sparks danced around. But just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and the sheets and sparks vanished.

Stumbling slightly, dizzy, Starfire struggled to regain her balance and looked up at Raven, who was smiling genuinely at her for the first time that night.

"Here," she said, producing a full-length mirror from thin air. "Go ahead and look." Beast Boy moved over to hold the mirror, and Raven moved over to beside Starfire.

Starfire moved towards the mirror, her reflection slowly coming into view. She gasped aloud, stunned, and moved closer, enchanted by what she saw.

A beautiful dress hugged her body, tight enough to look great, but not overtly suggestive. It was a stunning shade of purple that looked amazing on her. The dress seemed to slim her stomach, make her look slender, and accentuate her chest delicately. The fabric seemed like a fine silk that sparkled in the light when she moved.

The glass slippers were gorgeous. When they caught the light, they sparkled like diamonds, and they added a certain _oomph_ to her appearance that would leave a lasting impression.

Starfire just gasped, looking in the mirror, turning, watching appreciatively as her dress swirled around her.

"I -- I -- I look _great_!" Starfire said, awed.

"You do, don't you?" Raven said, smiling at her creation. "Of course, your hair is still a bit grungy, but that's easy enough to rectify. And then -- whoa! Whoa! What are you doing? Get off!"

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" Starfire cried enthusiastically, hugging Raven tightly. "Now I can go to the ball! And my appearance is stunning! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!"

"Get _off _me!" Raven said, forcibly shoving Starfire off of her. Beast Boy looked amused.

Starfire got to her feet, not rattled at all, still on cloud nine from her new dress.

"C'mon, Star," Beast boy said happily, her enthusiasm contagious. "Now we get to fix everything else."

"Really?" she said excitedly.

"Now," Raven said, ignoring them, "we need to fix the hair." Raven flicked her wrist, and Starfire's hair was suddenly clean and healthy, with a glossy shine to it. "You don't need much makeup, just a bit of mascara and lip gloss." Another wrist flick, and it was done. "And, of course, the final touch." Raven touched Starfire's neck, and a pearl circlet appeared around her throat.

"Perfect!" Beast Boy gushed. "Absolutely striking! Ravishing! Fantastic!"

"Yes, yes," Raven said dismissively. "But Starfire needs to get on her way, or she'll be late for the ball."

Beast Boy and Raven paused, apparently waiting for something. After a minute, Raven spoke.

"Well?" she said. "Aren't you going to go to the ball?"

"But -- I have no way to get there!" Starfire said.

"You're a _Tamaranian_," Raven said slowly, as if she were speaking to a child. "You can _fly_."

"No, I cannot," Starfire said.

"Why don't you just make her a carriage or something?" Beast Boy said. "Why do you have to make everything hard?"

"Fate helps those who helps themselves," Raven retorted. "Starfire, you can fly there."

"I have not been able to fly since my father's death," Starfire said miserably.

"What?" Raven said, astonished. "Why not?"

"Tamaranian powers are inclined by our emotions," Starfire said gloomily. "I have never been joyful enough to fly since Galfore died."

"I see," Raven sighed. "Well, then, we have to find some form of transportation."

"Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know!" Beast Boy said, running at the wall. "I'll be right back!"

Starfire opened her mouth to tell him to watch out for the wall, when he suddenly jumped into the air and transformed into a green fly, and flew through the hole in the window.

"He can turn into a fly?" Starfire said, astonished.

"Actually, he can turn into any animal he chooses," Raven said airily, picking at her nails. "Hence, the name 'Beast Boy'."

Starfire's mind flew back to the odd fly see had seen on the porch earlier.

"I got it!" Beast Boy called, reappearing, carrying a large pumpkin.

"Where'd you get that?" Raven demanded, looking at the vines still attached to it.

"The neighbor lady's garden," Beast Boy said. "Hey! We needed it, and hers were forgotten and rotting anyway!" he said defensively, as Raven glared at him.

"_What _am I supposed to with a _pumpkin_?" Raven asked, exasperated.

"Turn it into a carriage," Beast Boy said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" Raven said incredulously. "Wha -- no, I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

"Come on," Beast Boy said. "You need to get her a ride there."

"You know what? Fine," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "I'll turn the freaking pumpkin into a carriage. But that's _only _because I'm too tired to care and I want to get home."

"Yeah," Beast Boy teased. "To your _lover_."

"Shut up!" Raven snapped, flushing. "Here's your bloody carriage," she said quickly, changing the subject. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

A lightning bolt of black light struck the pumpkin, vanishing into the rind. The pumpkin gave a great lurch and started to grow.

Starfire shrieked slightly as the pumpkin rolled around the floor and swelled. "It's okay," Beast Boy soothed her. "It's just the magic working."

Starfire watched, her eyes wide, as the pumpkin enlarged rapidly, doubling and tripling in size over and over again, becoming the body of the carriage. The vines lengthened, curling and transforming into sleek ivory wheels.

Finally, the magic stopped, and a magnificent orange carriage stood before them. Raven flicked her wrist, and the carriage turned into an ivory white, matching the wheels.

"Come on," Raven said, gesturing them to follow. "I'll teleport it outside."

Starfire and Beast Boy left through the basement door, only to see Raven waiting for them with the carriage right beside her.

"We need transportation…" Raven murmured to herself. She pondered for a moment, before turning to Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy," she commanded. "Go get some of those rats and mice I banished from the basement."

"Sure," Beast Boy said. He quickly transformed into a rat, and scurried into the now-clean basement, before returning only moments later, a parade of rodents following him. Raven quickly scooped them up in with her powers.

"Now, we need horses," Raven said, changing four of the largest rats into majestic steeds, hooked up to the harnesses,.

"A driver…"

In a flash of black light, one mouse was missing, and a smartly dressed carriage driver was on the seat.

"Footmen…"

The rest of the mice disappeared, reappearing as two footmen, in matching uniforms.

"And a couple helpers, perhaps."

Here, Raven turned to Beast Boy, who grinned.

"You mean we get to go with Starfire and help her out?" Beast Boy exclaimed, excited.

"Yes," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "So long as you behave yourself."

"Okay!" Beast Boy agreed quickly.

The castle clock chimed loudly, reminding them of the time.

"Now, before you go, there are a few rules," Raven told her, as Starfire admiringly ran a hand over the smooth ivory of the carriage.

"Rules?" Starfire asked, questioning.

"Yes. Rules," Raven reiterated. "There's a price for magic, you know."

"Okay…" Starfire said. "What rules?"

"Rule one: You must be home by midnight," Raven told her. "The magic only lasts until midnight. After that, the carriage, your clothes, your jewelry; everything will disappear."

"Why?" Starfire asked.

"Nothing lasts forever," Raven informed her. "And it takes a constant drain of energy to keep up so much."

"Oh, let her keep something as a souvenir," Beast Boy admonished. "This will be the best night of her wretched life."

"Oh, all right," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "Everything but your ridiculous shoes will disappear."

"Okay," Starfire said.

"Rule two," Raven said. "No telling anyone what happened."

"Even if I did, no one would believe me," Starfire mentioned.

"True," Raven admitted. "Lastly, rule three." She glared at Starfire, fixing her with her piercing violet gaze once more. Starfire gulped.

"Rule three: You are not to fraternize with the prince's sister."

At this, Beast Boy cracked up in hysterics, rolling around on the road in laughter. Raven glared at him, while Starfire was just confused.

"His-- _sister?_" she asked, puzzled. "Why?"

Raven opened her mouth to respond, but was quickly interrupted by Beast Boy.

"Raven has a _thing_ for the princess," he told her, grinning madly. "She tends to get jealous."

"It is not a _thing,_" Raven said hotly. "It is just that she is _taken_, by yours truly, so there is no point in flirting with her."

"Yeah, sure," Beast Boy smirked. Starfire giggled.

"Whatever," Raven said, rolling her eyes. She turned and fixed her gaze on Starfire.

"You," she told her, "need to get going, or you'll miss the entire ball."

"Oh!" Starfire exclaimed, a hand flying to her mouth. "I forgot, almost!"

"Hurry!" Beast Boy said, pushing her into the carriage. "You must go! Quickly! We'll meet up with you in a bit!"

The carriage suddenly took off down the street, launching Starfire back into her seat. She turned around to see Raven and Beast Boy, waving her off.

"This is so exciting!" Starfire squealed, clapping her hands. "I can't wait!"

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A short while later, Starfire arrived at the castle entrance.

She was pleased to note that there were others still arriving, meaning she couldn't be too late. One of the footman opened the door and helped her out of the carriage, and Starfire went in, only to pause in the doorway, awed.

The castle was amazing. The entrance room was lavishly decorated in velvets and silks, but the ballroom was incredible. Down a beautiful grand staircase, the rich wooden floor shined like gold, and the majestic chandeliers sparkled from the rooftops like diamonds.

"Good evening, miss."

Starfire turned to see the same boy who had told her of the ball standing at the doorway, without his mask and in a black suit of some sort, looking intensely bored.

"And how shall I announce you?" he asked dully. He turned to get a better look at her, and recognition flared in his eyes.

"I remember you!" he said, straightening, his entire disposition changing. He grinned. "I get off duty in half an hour," he told her. "Save a dance for me, okay?"

Starfire started to nod, but the lad was already speaking again.

"I still have to announce you, though," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her over to the staircase leading to the room. "What's your name again? Oh, no, I remember," he said. Starfire quickly moved to stop him, before it was too late.

"No," she said hurriedly. "My name is-"

"Cinderstar," the boy announced into the hall, pushing Starfire forward. Sighing to herself, Starfire held the railing and began descending the stairs.

Was it just her, or did it seem that everyone was looking at her? Starfire mentally thanked her mind for remembering how to regally go down the stairs, like she had seen Jinx do countless times in the previous weeks.

_Eyes straight ahead. Shoulders back. Head up. Move gracefully. Smile._ Starfire mentally chanted to herself, slowly descending the stairs as the room watched. It seemed to go on forever.

Starfire couldn't help but feel a thrill as she glided down the majestic staircase. Surely her stepfamily would see her act of defiance?

Finally, she reached the bottom. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and moved to find the refreshment table while Cynthia von Drapenstien was announced.

Holding a glass of champagne in her hand, Starfire sipped it slowly as she watched the dancers go swirling by. She caught sight of Jinx, deep in conversation with some duke or something, and Blackfire, who's partner seemed more intent on her bosom than dancing.

"I'll take that," a girl said, coming over to her, taking her empty cup. "We plan on reusing these glasses."

"Oh, thank you," Starfire exclaimed, fearful she had made a dreadful faux pas. "I did not know-"

She paused, observing the girl before her.

She appeared slightly older than her, with a pleasant disposition. She wore a golden gown that accentuated her deep blue eyes. Her long blonde hair was held back with a diamond tiara.

"You're the princess!" Starfire exclaimed, awed. The princess laughed.

"Call me Terra," the princess told her. She looked Starfire over, studying her as if she'd seen her somewhere before. Her eyes rested on the shoes.

"Oh! You must be Starfire!" she exclaimed. "I'd recognize Beast Boy's ideas anywhere."

"Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, confused. "How do you know --?"

"With Raven for a friend, meeting Beast Boy's a given," Terra smiled.

"Oh!" Starfire said, remembering. "I have to go. Raven said --"

"Not to talk to me?" Terra surmised, grinning. "Don't worry about it. Raven's just a little possessive. I would be too, if I didn't know that Beast Boy was gay…"

"Beast Boy's gay?" Starfire asked, baffled.

"Of course! A straight guy with that sense of style? Give me a break!" Terra laughed. "He's on the homosexual rights committee with me, too. He goes with our moat guard, Aqualad. Anyway, I must introduce you to my brother! Raven said you two would be great together!"

"Your brother?" Starfire bit out, being roughly dragged across the room to two large thrones.

"Mom! Dad! I've found the perfect girl for Robin!" Terra said eagerly. Starfire slowly looked up the huge golden thrones, to see two figures perched atop them.

On the right was a strange looking man. He was black, had one red eye, and seemed to have strange shiny blue sections of skin. He was smiling down at her.

On the left, a tall slender black woman sat, her legs crossed. Unlike her husband, who was wearing a velvet robe and holding a scepter, she wore nothing regal except for a gold crown perched on her head. She wore tight black leggings, and a tight yellow and black shirt.

"Hello, there," the man said, leaning down to gently crush her hand in his. "I am King Cyborg. And this is my lovely wife, Queen Bumblebee."

"Hey," Bumblebee said, smiling.

"Wait -- what --" Starfire said, thoroughly befuddled. "How can two black humans make two white ones?"

Cyborg laughed, while Bumblebee chuckled.

"Never you mind," Cyborg said, smiling. Turning to his daughter, he said, "Where is your brother? I'm sure he'd be delighted to meet her."

"I dunno," Terra shrugged. "I think he's avoiding me. No idea why, though…"

Bumblebee stood up, her dark eyes scanning the crowd. "There he is," she said, pointing. Terra turned.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, fire in her eyes. "He's dancing with Raven! What the heck? I'll kill him!"

"Calm down, dear," Cyborg admonished. "You know they're just friends. He would never steal your partner."

"He had better not," Terra mumbled. She waved her hand, calling, "Rae! Over here!"

Starfire saw a familiar dark girl glide over, someone following her.

"Terra!" Raven exclaimed, embracing the girl. "I just got here! How are you?"

"I'm great," Terra told her. "Hang on a tic." Turning to the boy standing just behind Raven, out of Starfire's sight, she said, "Hey, Robin, I found the perfect girl for you!"

"Not again!" the boy called Robin groaned audibly. "You've been trying to set me up with every girl in this godforsaken place!"

"This one's different," Terra promised.

"Uh-uh," the boy said defiantly. "I am _not_ dancing with anyone else you set me up with."

"At least have a look at her," Terra said, smiling slyly. "She's a knockout. If you don't dance with her, _I_ will."

"You will _not_," Raven hissed at Terra, who merely smirked.

"Fine," he said with a long-suffering sigh. He stepped forward, and Starfire caught sight of the prince.

Starfire gasped.

He was _hot._

Dressed in a crisp black tuxedo suit with clearly defined muscles beneath it, he was striking. He had a well-defined manly chin, and his stormy gray eyes were mysterious and alluring, and Starfire found herself wanting to get lost in them.

All in all, he was _really_ handsome.

As Starfire finished her visual voyage, it seemed Robin was finishing his own as well. Looking up, he met her eyes.

Electricity seemed to crackle between them, their eyes staying stuck to each other, chemistry and attraction swirling around them.

"Hello," the prince said in a deep voice that sounded of adoration, as he took her hand and raised it to his lips. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," he murmured, his lips brushing her hand, his eyes never leaving hers.

"The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure," Starfire said, enchanted, her gaze locked on his. He smiled charmingly at her, and Starfire thought she could hear her heart beating hard from within her ribcage.

"I _told_ you you'd like her," Terra said smugly, watching their interaction.

"Shut it," Robin snapped, turning to glare at his sister. Terra merely smirked back at him, before turning back to Raven and pulling her off to the dance floor.

"May I have this dance, m'lady?" Robin asked in his deep voice, bending down in a low bow.

"I would love to," Starfire murmured, dipping down into a curtsey.

Robin grasped her hand and gently pulled her to the middle of the floor, just as a slow song was starting up.

Pulling up memories of her mother and father dancing at various state dinners, Starfire put a hand around his shoulders, as she was supposed to do. The prince placed his hand around her waist, sending tiny shivers scurrying up and down her spine.

Slowly, they began to dance. As the song progressed, Starfire relaxed, becoming accustomed to the rhythm and movements. She looked about her, straining her eyes to catch a glimpse of her stepfamily, hoping they could see her dancing with the prince.

After a bit of searching, though, Starfire gave up, and surrendered herself over to enjoying the dance.

The song was slow and sensual, the sound of flutes and violins caressing her ears. She stumbled slightly, distracted, and Robin caught her, pulling her in firmly, resting her against his chest.

It felt… nice.

All too soon, the song ended with a whisper of violins. Starfire pulled away, expecting him to move on to another girl. But he peered deep into her eyes and murmured, "Again?"

Starfire felt a thrill and murmured back, "Yes."

Giving herself over to the dance, Starfire leaned against him, closing her eyes, relishing the feeling. She caught sight of Kitten gabbing to some lord or other, Beast Boy, who winked at her, and Blackfire, her mouth open and gaping, as she had seen Starfire.

Somehow, Starfire ended up dancing every dance with Robin. The conversation was engaging, his eyes enigmatic, and time flew by.

After a while, even with her Tamaranian bone structure, Starfire's feet were practically bloodied with the rubbing of the slippers, and she asked to sit down. Robin smiled at her kindly, led her out onto a terrace, just him and her, and sat down on a porcelain bench.

Starfire smiled and looked around her. She could see the moonlight and starshine and fields of roses. She tilted her head upwards, gently closing her eyes, letting the moonbeams hit her face, illuminating it like she was a goddess.

Robin began gently tracing the outline of her face with his finger, turning her face toward him. Starfire looked at him, a question shining in her eyes.

"You're very beautiful," he whispered in a reverent tone.

Starfire wanted to say, "You are too," but she knew that was wrong; men were handsome, not beautiful. But suddenly, she couldn't say anything.

His hands had moved to the back of her head and were pulling her closer, and then suddenly he was kissing her, and Starfire couldn't think of any words, only of him.

Somehow, he lifted her up, and they were dancing again, out on the terrace, under the stars. Starfire could hear the music from the ballroom, light and beautiful. And then she heard something else; a rumbling.

Dong, dong, dong… 

Starfire pulled back and stared up at the palace clock.

Suddenly, her neck seemed much lighter. Reaching up to her throat, Starfire realized her pearl necklace had vanished.

The magic only lasts until midnight… 

"Oh, no. Is it midnight?" she asked.

Robin looked at her in a puzzled way.

"It is!" she exclaimed. "Oh, no. I am so sorry. I have to leave." She stood up, preparing to go.

"You cannot leave," the prince said, attempting to pull her close again. She jerked away.

"Yes, I must. I am sorry. So sorry --"

Starfire ran through the door, back through the ballroom, and out the front door as fast as she could. She raced down the steps and felt her shoe slip. She shook it off and left it there as she ran on, not having time to pick it up.

"Wait!"

Starfire ran on, feeling her great gown change back to her Tamaranian clothes. As she reached the street, she saw only a smashed pumpkin and several mice and rats scattered around, scurrying.

She kept on running, right into the forest, her hair flying wildly behind her. She could hear Robin yelling at the guards to follow her as she dodged trees and bushes.

Deciding to take a drastic chance to escape, Starfire shut her eyes as she ran, focussing on how great her evening had been.

As if she had been doing so all her life, Starfire rose into the air, flying. She quickly took off, streaking for home.

Far below her, two stumped guards scratched their heads, looking around, wondering where the mysterious girl had gone.

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"She _what?_"

Robin was _furious_.

First, his parents had to throw him a blasted ball so he could 'find a wife and settle down.' Next, his stupid sister Terra had to introduce him to every bloody girl in the place. Then, when he finally found a girl he liked and could quickly fall in love with, she ran. And now, his idiot guards couldn't find the girl.

Robin was _pissed._

"What do you mean, _you couldn't find her?_"

The guards shifted uneasily from side to side.

"Well, you see, your Highness, she ran into the forest, and seems to have… vanished," one guards offered timidly.

"Vanished?" Robin repeated incredulously. "She _vanished?_"

"Yes," said the second guard, rapidly nodding his head. "Vanished. Gone. Just like that."

Robin got off his seat, and went over to the guard who had spoken. In one swift movement, he picked him clear off his feet by the collar, holding him up in the air, his feet dangling helplessly.

"You want me to believe that she just _vanished?"_ he roared, shaking the terrified guard, who looked ready to shit himself.

"**People do not just _vanish_!"** Robin boomed, shaking the guard so violently his head was only a blur.

Suddenly, he stopped, dropping the guard to the floor with a loud **_thud_**. He turned away, scowling.

The other guard crept forward.

"Sir?" he offered timidly. Robin whirled around to fix his venomous gray gaze on him. The guard shrank back.

"Th-- the lady left this on the s-- stair," he stuttered, holding up a glass slipper. "I -- I thought you m-- might want to kn-- know.

Robin snatched the slipper from him and examined it carefully.

"Well done," he snarled. "At least you simpering sycophants have done one thing right."

The guards exchanged hopeful glances.

"This," he announced, looking at the slipper, "is how I shall find the woman of my dreams again. I shall have every woman in the kingdom try it on, and whomever it fits shall be the girl I marry."

The guards broke into shocked speech.

"You don't know her _name?_"

"That's how you're going to find her?"

"--danced with her for hours --"

"-- shoe might fit anybody --"

"-- didn't even ask her name --"

"- -could end up married to a toad --"

"**ENOUGH!"** Robin yelled, silencing them. He glared at them, making the guards quake in their boots.

"I did not ask her name," Robin snapped at them. "I was busy enjoying the dance. She was enchanting." Robin's eyes softened for a moment, reflecting, before snapping back to the guards.

"I would find out what her name is, but my dear sister Terra's lover Raven has taken her to visit Azarath, and Beast Boy has gone to Atlantis and is currently meeting Aqualad's family," Robin informed them.

The guards bit back a snicker. Robin glared at them.

"You two shall be accompanying me on my journey tomorrow morning, as soon as dawn breaks," Robin told them. "Inform Speedy that he will be coming with us. Now, get to bed. We have a busy day ahead of us."

"But sir -- the ball --" one guard objected.

"The ball is over!" Robin snarled. "It is _my_ ball. It is over when _I_ say it is! Any questions?"

The guards hurriedly shook their heads and scrambled off.

Robin sat back down on the bench and rubbed his temples, sighing.

Where could she have gone?

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The next morning, as Starfire was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, her stepfamily was going over the details of the ball in the living room.

"The food was perfectly _awful_," Kitten whined. "Every time I ate something, I felt horribly sick afterwards."

"Maybe you should have only eaten _one_ thing, then, instead of ten or twenty at a time," Blackfire snickered.

"I rather enjoyed it," Jinx said. "The other ladies' styles were amusing to examine. _No one_ outshone _us_."

"What about that one girl the prince was dancing with nearly the whole time?" Kitten said thoughtfully. "She was stunning."

Starfire froze in the kitchen, before slowly continuing to stir the oatmeal, listening.

"Yes, yes," Jinx said, waving her hand dismissively. "I must admit, the girl had style. She _was_ gorgeous, but not so much as we were. Who was she, anyway?"

"No idea," Blackfire said. "I rather thought she looked like Cinderstar, and thought she might have slipped out to go to the dance, but when we came home and saw how clean the basement was, I knew it couldn't be her. She had to have spent the whole night on that."

Starfire sighed listlessly. She rather wished she _had_ spent the whole night scrubbing at the filth in the basement. At least, then, she wouldn't have met the prince and left her heart in his hands.

_Stop it,_ she mentally admonished herself. _You are never going to see Robin again, so there is no good in mooning over him like this._

When Starfire had gotten home, she had collapsed on the basement floor. She relived every dance, every glance, dreaming of the kiss on the terrace, remembering the feel of his hand on her back, guiding her across the floor.

And then she cried bitter tears, knowing she had fallen in love with the young man but would never see him again.

Sighing, Starfire removed the oatmeal from the stove and dolled the thick substance into three bowls. She really didn't feel like eating.

She moved into the living room, handing out the bowls and spoons, placing the sugar bowl in between them on the floor.

"Kitten, look at that, out the window."

Hearing the awe in Blackfire's tone, Starfire glanced up, and her heart stopped.

The prince was standing outside the door.

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"This is house number 167," Speedy, the messenger boy, rattled off dully. "

"Who lives here?" Robin asked, adjusting his crown for the millionth time that day.

"The Galfore widow, her two daughters, and her stepdaughter," Speedy said, flipping through papers on a clipboard. He paused. "I remember this house!" he exclaimed. "This is where Cinderstar lives!"

"Who?" Robin said, shooting Speedy a scathing look.

"Cinderstar," Speedy repeated. "I saw her at the ball, and asked her to save me a dance, but when I finally got off duty, I couldn't find her."

"What time was that?" Robin asked sharply. Speedy thought hard.

"A little before midnight," he said. "There was some disorder in the kitchen with those Spanish immigrants, and I had to take care of it before I could go out."

_A little before midnight, _Robin thought, his breath catching in his throat with hope. _If this Cinderstar character is she, she would have been out on the terrace with me._

Speedy moved forward and knocked sharply on the door.

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"Cinderstar, get back in the kitchen," Jinx commanded, her eyes fixed on the door. Starfire hesitated.

"Get back in the kitchen!" she snapped. "Stay there! They are not to see you!"

Obediently, Starfire went and watched through the side of the doorway as Jinx answered the door, Kitten and Blackfire right behind her.

"Your… Your Highness," Kitten said, flustered.

"S-s-sir," Blackfire stuttered.

The boy gave them both looks of withering scorn

"Hear ye, hear ye," the messenger boy boomed in a deep voice that somehow conveyed that he didn't feel any of them was worthy of his message, but that he was not one to shirk his work and would speak as grandly to them as he did to anyone else. "His Royal Highness, the prince," he said, gesturing to the appropriate person, "has a glass slipper, belonging to the woman he loves. He has decreed whomever the slipper fits, he shall marry."

"Come in, come in," Jinx urged, moving aside, shoving her daughters out of the way.

They all swept in.

A courtier of some sort moved forward, carrying the glass slipper on a rich velvet pillow. The prince took it, held it, and surveyed the three with a look of apprehension.

"Who's first?" he sighed.

"Ooh! I am! I am!" Kitten squealed, rushing forward. She sat down in the chair and took off her own shoes.

"What is your name?" the prince asked politely.

"Kitten," she purred eagerly.

The prince put Kitten's foot in the slipper, but it did not fit.

"You feet are much too small," he said, giving her a look of dismissal. Blackfire shoved Kitten aside and plopped down in the chair.

"The slipper is mine," she said, flashing the prince her most alluring smile.

"So I have heard many times today," the prince returned curtly. "Lies, all."

Blackfire bent down eagerly, watching as the prince moved to put it on her foot. Starfire held her breath.

"Your foot is much too big," he announced, waving her away. Jinx moved forward, already in bare feet.

Starfire breathed a breath of relief.

"Your foot is much too narrow," he told her, a steely glint in his eyes. He stood up.

"Is there anyone else here in the household?" he asked, withdrawn, looking around.

Kitten opened her mouth to speak, but Jinx clapped a hand over her mouth. The prince looked at her oddly.

"No," Jinx said quickly. "There is no one else."

"No one?" he asked, turning to go.

"No one," Jinx reiterated firmly.

"Wait a second," the messenger boy spoke up. "There is too! Where's Cinderstar?"

The prince turned.

"Cinderstar?" Jinx feigned confusion. "I've never heard of any Cinderstar…"

"Yes you have!" the boy insisted. "I saw her here last time I came, and she was at the ball, too!" Jinx's eyes flared with malice, and she shot a look of hatred at her stepdaughter in the kitchen. The messenger boy, however, followed her gaze.

"There she is!" he cried, pointing. Starfire breath caught in her throat. "She's the one I asked to save a dance for me, but I never found her!"

"Come on, Cinderstar," the prince said gently, looking at her kindly, even though she wore naught but rags and dirt. "It is your turn to try on the slipper."

Hardly daring to believe her luck, Starfire moved forward and sat on the chair.

"My apologies," she murmured to the messenger boy. "I was otherwise -- engaged."

Starfire heard the prince's breath catch in his throat.

He bent over, moving the slipper to place it on her foot. It was clear to all that it would fit.

Time seem to slow down.

As Starfire watched the prince, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jinx shove Blackfire forward, causing her to stumble and fall…

…directly into the prince.

"Ahh!" Blackfire cried, landing hard. The prince fell under her weight, the slipper escaping his hand, spinning through the air…

…only to crash on the hard limestone stairs, splintering into thousands of glass shards.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Blackfire asked Jinx crossly, getting to her feet. "That hurt!"

"It was an accident!" Jinx said, shrugging. She turned to look at the remains of the slipper, and smiled evilly. "Oh, what a loss! The slipper's broken! Well, you can always marry one of my fine daughters. I daresay they're as beautiful as your girl…"

"No!" the prince cried out, showing real emotion for the first time, reaching for the shards. "No!" He let his hands fall dejectedly to his sides, and it looked like he would cry.

"Do not despair," Starfire said softly. The prince turned. "All is not lost."

"What do you mean, you silly girl?" Jinx spat. "The slipper is gone! Of course all is lost! How can it not be?"

Starfire looked at her stepmother, meeting her gaze coolly for the first time in her life.

"For _I_ have the other slipper," Starfire told her, a triumphant gleam in her eye.

"What?" the prince breathed.

Starfire movedss and withdrew the other slipper from her back pocket. Wordlessly, she handed it to the prince, who silently slipped it onto her foot.

"It fits," he breathed. "It fits perfectly."

He looked up, meeting Starfire's eyes, a look of recognition sparking in his eyes.

"It's you," he said, hardly daring to believe his luck. "It is! It is you!" He swept Starfire off her feet in traditional bridal style, and bent down to kiss her passionately.

"No!" Jinx cried, stomping her foot. "No!"

"Oh, yes," the prince said, shooting a venomous look at her. He moved to the door, still carrying Starfire.

"Wait!" Jinx cried, throwing herself at the prince's feet. "We have raised your love since she was a child," she said quickly, not meeting his eye. "Surely, as her family, we are meant to join her at court."

The prince fixed her with his most scathing look.

"Get out of my sight," he hissed. Jinx fell back, fearful.

"Come, Cinderstar," he said, carrying her down the steps. "We have a wedding to arrange."

"Starfire," she corrected him quietly. The prince smiled down at her.

"Starfire," he said, smiling. "I like that more."

Starfire smiled as he carried her to a waiting royal carriage to be whisked off to the palace.

Something in her life had finally gone right.

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The wedding was grand, the event of the century. The entire court and common folk had come to see, Jinx and her kin excluded. Starfire's wedding gown had been created by Raven, with the assistance of Beast Boy, and was absolutely gorgeous, much the type she would have worn on her home planet, Tamaran, wearing new glass slippers. Robin looked dashingly handsome, as always.

Terra had taken care of the wedding plans, proposing at one point to make it a joint event, and having a civil union of her and Raven at the same time, but Raven had pointed out that she had no desire to be so public a spectacle, and it would only take away from the prince's special day. Terra had agreed.

The ceremony swept by in a blur. Before Starfire knew it, the vows were spoken, rings were exchanged, and then Robin was kissing her, and it was every bit as perfect as the first time.

Amidst the cheering of the crowd, Robin swept her off her feet, grinning, and put her into the royal carriage.

"Ready?" he asked her, smiling.

"Always," Starfire responded. She leaned forward for another sweet kiss, as the carriage rode off into the sunset.

And they lived happily ever after.

**The End**

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So, what did you think? This was _such_ fun to write! Please, review, and let me know what you think!


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